Category : vSphere

Written by Christopher Lewis on March 25, 2017 .

Prerequisites A VMCA SSL Certificate (such as root_signing_cert.cer) A RSA Private Key (such as root_signing_cert.key) Process Overview The high level steps are as followed: Log into the External Platform Services Controller. Replace the Root Certificate. Connect to the PSC Appliance. Renew the Machine SSL Certificate. Renew the Solution User Certificate. Connect to the VCSA Appliance. Renew the Machine SSL Certificate. Renew the Solution User Certificate. Reboot the Platform Services Controller. Process Breakdown Log into External Platform Services Controller Navigate to https://psc-appliance.

Platform Services Controller vCenter VCSA VMCA VMware vSphere

Written by Christopher Lewis on January 8, 2017 .

In this post we will look to expand on my previous post HOWTO: Deploy a vSphere 6.5 External Platform Services Controller (VCSA) and deploy the VMware vSphere 6.5 vCenter Server Appliance so that it takes advantage of the external Platform Services Controller. Prerequisites Like with anything VMware Appliance related, you will need to have both Forward and Reverse DNS entries manually added to your DNS Server. To install the VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA), you first have to mount the ISO.

VMware vSphere Platform Services Controller PSC vCenter Server

Written by Christopher Lewis on November 15, 2016 .

If you didn’t already here the news, VMware vSphere 6.5 is now GA . Whilst lots of people will be concentrating on upgrading vSphere 5.x/6.x to 6.5 I’m going to start with the basics… To install the Platform Services Controller using the VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA), you first have to mount the ISO. In Windows 10 this is simple! Installation Steps So first things first, double click on VMware-VCSA-all-6.5.0-<buildnumber>.iso to mount it as a drive on your system.

VMware vSphere Platform Services Controller PSC vCenter Server

Written by Christopher Lewis on July 25, 2016 .

As a follow on to my previous article, HOWTO: Automate the installation of the External Platform Service Controller using PowerCLI & JSON - Part 1 , I had a new customer requirement to deploy the Platform Service Controller as the identity solution for vRealize Automation 6.x, but this time directly onto a VMware vCenter Server rather than an VMware vSphere ESXi host. I can hear you all screaming at the article about vRealize Automation 7, how it is much cooler and has its own highly available vIDM - but this project started when vRA7 had only just come out and the customer didn’t want to take the risk.

Platform Services Controller PowerCLI PowerShell PSC VMware vSphere

Written by Christopher Lewis on July 3, 2016 .

As a follow on to my previous article on how to deploy HOWTO: Deploy the VMware vSphere 6.0 Platform Services Controlle r, I thought I would share a way to automate the delivery of the vSphere Platform Services Controller using PowerCLI/Powershell. The main credit for this article goes to the information in the brilliant PowerCLI Reference 2nd Edition (see my review here ) of which my colleague Jonathan Medd ( www.

Platform Services Controller PowerCLI PowerShell PSC VMware vSphere

Written by Christopher Lewis on May 23, 2016 .

The following instructions will help you deploy a standalone VMware vSphere Platform Service Controller. Instructions In the software installer directory, double-click vcsa-setup.html. Wait for the browser to detect the Client Integration Plug-in and allow the plug-in to run on the browser when prompted. On the Home page, click Install to start the vCenter Server Appliance deployment wizard. At the End User License Agreement screen, check the “I accept the terms of the license agreement checkbox”, and click Next.

Platform Services Controller PSC VMware vSphere

Written by Christopher Lewis on April 12, 2016 .

As part of the continual (re)deployment and evolution of my home lab I have created a custom ESXi image to include a VIB for my Synology SAN. Whilst I will concentrate on the steps required to complete this specifically for the Synology, the principle applies to any home lab or indeed any Production environment that needs a custom VMware vSphere ESXi Image.

VMware PowerCLI vSphere ESXi

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 27, 2016 .

On the 26th February (afternoon), I failed at my first attempt to gain my VCAP5-DCD with a score of 279. Beforehand I did say to myself that I would rather have failed hard than nearly get there with a close to passing score. Put simply, I ran out of time. Like most exams i take i go in with a game plan, i’d read a lot on the internet and been told by a lot of people - do the Master and Visio style questions first.

VCAP VCAP-DCD

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 14, 2016 .

Today I start my journey to obtain my VMware Certified Advanced Professional 5 - Data Center Design certification. I have been designing and supporting VMware products for a lot of years, so I thought it was about time I got my VCAP certifications! Note: Let me just say I realise the VMware Certified Advance Professional 6 - Data Center Virtualization Design is currently in BETA and I will be taking this exam as well.

Certification VCAP VCAP5-DCD